Destroying the System
by Javarack
Summary: Owning a shop was never best path to follow in Sword Art Online. Knowing this, Agil still took on the challenge of running a business. Profits were at an all-time low, but when he learns of an exploit that could benefit him greatly, he takes the opportunity, but the consequences could be too much to bear...
1. Is This Cheating?

**A/N: Here is my new story. I am not sure how long it will be, but I decided to make the main character someone who isn't given much screen time. I hope you all enjoy. Here is a question for you, who should the main character of my next story be? Please leave your answer in the reviews. ~Javarack**

* * *

This world was cruel. Death seemed to be around every corner, every location. In town was the only safe area where people could be themselves, releasing their worries about dying. Town was the place where everyone could relax, prepare for their next adventure, or even settle down. The thought of helping others was prevalent in the store owner's mind. He could fight, but decided to open a shop to assist players in more ways than one. He would help clear floors if he was needed, but the majority of his time was spent hunting for new items to sell.

Algade was a large but quiet city, with many three story building scattered across the skyline. It was exactly halfway up Aincrad, on floor fifty. The perfect location for a shop, players would stop in on their way to the higher floors. Agil had decided that the location would be his, and he opened his shop with the uncreative name, "Agil's Shop". For about two months after the grand opening, business was booming. Crowds of people surrounded the small shop to see what new goods they could get upon reaching floor fifty.

Now, it had been about four months since the shop first opened, and business slowed. One customer remained loyal. He was the main force on the battlefield, spinning his way through his opponents. Because of the man, Kirito, Agil's shop kept at least three customers a week.

Agil moved around his small store, checking that the newest pieces of equipment were hung on the wall and placed around the counter. A small chime sounded from the front of the building, and a man with brown hair strided in. He was clad in white armor with red trim, and a red cross rested on the shoulder pieces of his chestplate.

Agil knew this man was part of the Knights of the Blood Oath, the highest ranked guild in all of Aincrad. "What can I do for you?"

The light skinned KoB member looked up at the large shopkeeper, "I'm just looking around before heading up to floor fifty-nine."

The man strolled around the shop, lifting up different weapons such as swords, axes, and daggers. Agil studied the man, watching every move. He had developed a knack for studying human emotions during his four months of operation. Each movement of a player revealed a small piece of their thoughts, belief, and ideals. People had their habits, and the dark skinned store owner could discover what they were for every individual that entered his store. This man would rest his left index finger on the blade of each weapon he studied, leading Agil to infer that he was left handed.

Once he was finished scouring the shelves, the KoB member returned to the counter, where he spoke, "Your stock isn't what I was expecting, but I know something you may be interested in. I received word of a glitch in the game."

This caused Agil to grow wide eyed before quickly regaining his composure. He leaned down to player in front of him, "What do you mean?"

"On the fifty-fifth floor there is a cave. Once you enter, take a right and that will take you all the way to the furthest section. You will see a stalagmite, the only one in the entire cave. When you approach it, a notification box appears. This is the tricky part, no one has been able to figure out how to go beyond that point. There are rumors at what the reward will be, but you look like the type of guy who would check it out. Have fun…" The man gave him directions on how to reach the cave, and with that the man turned and exited the shop.

Agil stood there, with his elbows resting on the counter top. The man was correct, information like what he had just received intrigued him. The store owner was not sure if he should believe what he had just heard, but decided the best way to test it would be to see it for himself. He stepped into the back portion of his store, where a small table and chairs rested in a corner, while a counter and a doorway leading to a storage room were on the opposite side. Agil entered the storage room and looked to the right, seeing his large axe and armor pieces. He strapped on his metal chest plate and the left shoulder cup that was connected to it. His undershirt was green and had leather straps along the arms until it reached his black gloves. The store owner turned out the lights and made his way to the exit of his shop.

Locking the door behind him, Agil began to walk to the teleport gate of Algade. Once he reached it, he selected the fifty-fifth floor as his destination, and blue light swallowed his body.

Reemerging, he looked around the town. It was large, but seemed vacant. _'This is a newer floor, people are probably out exploring.'_ He headed for the western exit, recalling the directions he was given by the Knights of the Blood Oath member. Minutes seemed like seconds as he made his way to the cave. Agil was not one to show emotion, but he could not help feeling excited at what this glitch could be.

The cave was dark, with a small stream running across the entrance. Agil stepped over it, his steel-toed boot sending a metallic clang resonating into the depths of the cave. He continued forward, leaning down to avoid hitting his head on the roof of the cave. Once inside, he was able to return to his full height. It was brighter than he thought the inside of the cave would be, torches along the walls. He made his way forward along the straight path, looking for the first right he could take. Seeing it a few meters ahead, Agil picked up the pace. He turned and sped along the tunnel. The path opened up and he saw the lone stalagmite. The dark skinned man stepped up to the object, and just like the man said, a notification box appeared.

It read, "meta charset=' utf - 8'

META NAME = 'ROBOTS' CONTENT = 'NOARCHIVE'

META http - equiv = 'X-UA-Compatible' content = 'IE = edge'..." (It goes on and on)

 _'This looks like...code?'_ He studied it further, trying to pinpoint any information he could use. A few lines stuck out to him, _'This is saying that a high strength stat is required, and here it is talking about an equipment inspection skill. What's this…register access?'_ When Agil tapped on the line of code, a box appeared. He typed in his name and the box was replaced with another, "Welcome, AGIL."

The box with his named changed, and a items list appeared. Confusion spread throughout his mind, but he scrolled through the options. _'What are these?! Weapon with ridiculous stats, items that offer amazing buffs! Why are these here?'_ Another idea sprung into his head, _'I can sell these. With stock like this, people would have to come into my store.'_

He clicked on a few of the weapons, and when he was done he clicked the 'Move to Inventory' button. Once he took a few steps back, Agil moved forward, toward the stalagmite. A new box appeared and read, "Admin Password." He turned and made his way out of the cave, heading directly for the teleport gate in town.

Once he reached it, he went back to Algade. The city was dark as night had set in. The shop owner made his way through the town. He reached his store and unlocked the door, entering. He opened his inventory and materialized the new weapons and items, then marked them 'For Sell'...

* * *

The main servers of Sword Art Online were growing warm. Error messages ran across each one of them. Suddenly, the errors disappeared, replaced with a 'Re-calibrating' notification….


	2. Complete

**A/N: Hey guys! I am off of my hiatus! Sorry everyone. Here is chapter two of the Agil story. I am trying to make the chapters longer, and they next one should be even better. We are getting to the best parts of this plot now. I hope you all enjoy, and I'll talk to you all later! ~Javarack**

* * *

It had been two weeks since Agil cracked the exploit and began selling the rare items he obtained from doing so. Business was booming, an unprecedented number of customers were visiting his shop. People were lined up outside, each wanting one of the new weapons Agil offered. They were like nothing people had seen before, with incredible stats that far surpassed the current norm. The shopkeeper was happy to oblige, greed filling his mind.

A familiar voice sounded from behind him, "Hey Agil."

It made him jump, and the dark skinned man spun his head around. The Black Swordsman was standing there, his dark hair reflecting light from the lamps around the shop. "Oi, you startled me."

"Sorry, I figured I would drop by. It's been awhile," Kirito replied as he ran his fingers along one of the new swords offered at Agil's shop. "Looks like you are doing well."

"Yeah," Agil nodded, "new people have been stopping by every day."

The Black Swordsman continued his search around the store. His gaze fell upon the longsword section. As he was doing so, Agil locked up the shop, placing the closed sign on the door. When he was finished, he turned around, bumping into Kirito. "Sorry."

"It's fine bro," Kirito responded. "Where did you get all of these new items?"

Agil felt a bead of sweat trickle down his face, "I-uh… I found a mid-floor boss a while back, on floor fifty-five. I beat it once, but as I was finishing exploring and on my way back I saw it had respawned, so I fought it again. It dropped a different item. I waited, and it appeared again, giving me a new item. I battled it for a few days straight, and built up everything you see before you."

"A mid-floor boss? That always respawns?! You need to take me there, it sounds like an easy way to get some good gear," The Black Swordsman reasoned, a slight grin on his face.

"No can do man, if you knew where to find it, I would lose a customer, and that I can't allow," Agil replied, worry leaving his mind as the chances of getting discovered diminished.

Kirito obviously did not like Agil's answer, as the grin left his face, "I understand your reasoning, but I will have to pass on your selection. I have a new sword that is listed as the best in game."

"Looks like you saved your money this time," Agil responded, letting out a hearty laugh. "I'll see you later."

They bumbed fist as Kirito left the shop through the back, and Agil pulled out a chair. He collapsed in it, stretching as tension left his muscles. No one could know he was using a glitch in the programming to get these high level items. His eyes traveled around the shop, looking at how little stock he had remaining on the shelves. The dark man rose up and moved to the small closet, opening the door and peering inside. Dust flew up from the sudden gust of wind that moved through the room. _'Empty, Looks like I'll need to go after some more.'_

Agil equipped his armor and placed his large battle axe across his back, then headed out the back. The streets were quiet, as the city of Algade began to rest. He reached the center of the metropolis, which resonated with a soft red glow. Street lamps were positioned around the circle to provide lighting to the area, and the red color was unique to this exact spot, as the rest of the town had white lights. Agil stepped onto the teleportation pad and selected the fifty-fifth floor.

Emerging in the city, he gazed around. It had been about two weeks since his first trip, and since then, the population of players had increased. Many were walking along the cobblestone paths of the large city. Agil made his way to the exit, which would lead him to the cave.

The route leading to the cave was bare, only a plain that had nothing on it but a few monsters. One spawned in front of him, and Agil pulled out his axe, holding it in front of him. The beast lunged at him, and he moved to block. The creature was too fast, and smashed into his abdomen. _'What the, these are weak compared to me. How did it move so fast?!'_ As he was trying to get back up, the beast leaped on him, sending him falling back onto the cool earth. All he could see were the fangs of the monster, as they shot down into his shoulder. Agony filled him, and he screamed out in pain. _'D-Damn this realism! This pain is excruciating!'_

A slight high-pitched humming noise sounded from behind him, and then a sword thrust into the beast. It was sent sprawling across the ground, before regaining its footing. "Hey Agil, you alright?"

Agil looked up to see Kirito there, offering a hand to help him up. He took it, and responded, "It's just a flesh wound, thanks for helping me." The Black Swordsman nodded and turned back to face the monster, as it readied itself to make another attack run. Agil picked up his axe and steadied himself, then watched as the creature charged forward. The shopkeeper blocked the attack and pushed the monster back, then yelled out, "switch!" Kirito spun around the dark skinned man and performed multiple slashes with his Elucidator. Multicolor polygons floated in the air as the beast shattered apart.

Agil placed his axe back in its resting spot on his back, then questioned Kirito, "Why are you here?"

"Sorry, I was interested in this boss, so I tailed you. When I saw you having trouble with that monster, I knew I had to help you," the young man answered.

"Thanks, Kirito," Agil sighed. "There is no boss, I'll show you how I've been getting my supplies, but you can't tell no one, you hear?"

The Black Swordsman looked confused, but nodded. He sent Agil a party request, which he quickly accepted. The pair continued going across the plain, until they reached the cave, with its small stream running in front of the mouth. They entered, and Agil led him to the rock, "Here we are."

"A rock? Really? What is this supposed to do?" Kirito asked, his brow furrowed.

"Watch this," Agil quickly responded as he stepped closer to the rock. A text box appeared, and then a keyboard. The shop owner typed in his password, then the box was replaced by the item list that contained the many pieces of equipment and items. Kirito peered over his shoulder and gawked at the sheer number of items that were there. Agil tapped on the name Algeis, a shield, and it materialized in his hands.

"This lets me take any of these items, and they never vanish. If you look at some of the stats, these can take us to the end of the game!" Agil exclaimed to his friend.

"I've never seen anything like this. It looks like a coding error," He spoke aloud, before whispering softly to himself, "why would no one have noticed this as the game was being developed? Surely the system would have patched it by now…"

"Everything alright?" The shopkeeper asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it's all good," Kirito responded, a little quicker than normal. "Be careful, we don't know how this could affect the game."

Agil responded, "You're probably right. I'll just take enough to restock the shop, then we can go."

* * *

The pair exited the cave, and the small treeline vanished behind them as they reached the plain. More monsters were spawning across the dawn covered grass. Kirito nodded towards them, and Agil saw the gleam in his eye. _'Looks like he wants to battle them.'_ The two slowly stepped forward, stalking a beast that was alone on the side of the plain. When it stopped, they made their move.

Agil leapt into the air, smashing his axe head onto the beast. It roared out in pain, and tried to move, but the axe had went clean through its body. It pinned down the monster, and Kirito ran up and slashed into the beast. Agil shot a glance at the creature's health, but it had just dropped into the yellow zone. _'What the hell?! We should have defeated this thing by now!'_

His muscles rippling, Agil tore his weapon out of the earth. Now that the beast was free, it darted away, before spinning back around. Kirito called out, "This isn't right! We should have already won!" The dark man gave a nod before running forward. His axe began to glow a green color before he swung it out in a complete circle, than a downward strike. The creature was hit by the circle spin, but managed to avoid the downward slash. Agil heard footsteps behind him, and ducked to the right. Kirito planted a foot on the store owner's back and propelled himself forward. The added momentum was enough, and as his sword dug into the enemy's flesh, it shattered apart.

The Black Swordsman sheathed his weapon, then turned to face Agil, "This is ridiculous, the monsters were not this strong the last time I was here."

"We should get back to town, as soon as possible," Agil recommended.

"I couldn't agree more," Kirito replied, and they took off for the town.

Light was beginning to appear on the horizon, and the artificial sunlight warmed the air. The town was visible ahead, and the pair picked up their pace. As they entered through the gate, they both let out a sigh of relief. Reaching the safe zone was important. Until they could figure out what was going on, it would be better to play it safe. Agil led the way to the teleportation area, and they made their way to floor fifty.

Once they arrived, they made a beeline for Agil's store. He unlocked the door and the two entered. Kirito collapsed in one of the wooden chairs next to the small table, and Agil pulled one out for himself. He watched as the Black Swordsman opened up his menu and scrolled through some information. "Agil, look at this."

He swiped his finger to the right, sending the floating box to Agil. He clicked on a speaker symbol, and it began to read out, "Warning! Enemies Experience Level Spike! For the past few weeks, more players have been dying due to exploration. These are the most deaths that the game has experienced beside floor bosses. There were over seven thousand players left in the game, but as of today, the official count is now six thousands eight hundred and seventy-nine. In the past two weeks, over five hundred players have been killed. The cause of this phenomenon is unknown at this time, but we caution you, the next time you decide to head out of a safe zone, make sure you are prepared."

"When did you start using that exploit?" Kirito asked.

Agil gulped, "T-two weeks ago."

"So when you brought these items onto this floor, it increased the level of the monsters! And as they spread throughout the different floors of Aincrad, it made the entire game harder!" Kirito spoke loudly. "This is really bad Agil."

* * *

In the distance, a bell sounded. It came from a large castle that loomed over the city of Algade. Inside the highest room, a man sat in a large chair behind a desk. His frame was outlined, but his face was dark. "The plan is going accordingly," A voice spoke softly, letting out a laugh.


	3. UPDATE

**Hey all, Javarack here! I am SO sorry for not updating any of my stories, or posting new ones. I am still working on them, I haven't forgotten about you guys. You've supported me, and I thank you. I have entered my toughest year of schooling to date, and it takes up all of my time. Some of the classes are AP Physics, Chemistry, Dual Credit US History, etc. I still feel terrible for not informing everyone.**

 **How my time will be spent:**

 **1) Homework**

 **2) Family Affairs**

 **3) Relaxation (Time with friends, movies, concerts, etc.)**

 **4) Fanfiction**

 **The above list shows you how I will be spending my free time for this year. I'm sure you can understand why I need time to relax with the stress of school. I will continue writing, so do not worry.**

 **Thank you for understanding! I love all of my followers, and will try my hardest to continue writing for you. If you would like, PM me at anytime.**

 **Comment anything you would like, good luck wishes, chapter ideas, or your own opinions. I will have more information for you later, but for now, I will be focusing on my studies. ~Javarack**

 **P.S. I would like to thank a few of my followers, for helping me and guiding me. They should know who they are. ~Javarack**


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